Is Reason 9 useful to have, if I use a Traditional DAW (Cubase, S1, ..etc) ?

[JonSolo]

See my signature...

I have been with Reason and Cubase together for a long time. Now I use Ableton and Maschine along with Cubase and Reason. What I have discovered is that the different DAWS cause me to approach things differently. If I start a project with Reason I will end up with a very different product than if I had started it Ableton or Cubase. The blocks feature really help you get down idea basics in quick time. There are times I sketch out products in Reason and then rework them with samples and VST in Cubase...other times I leave well enough alone and get a good result.

But it is all in your workflow.

[dzilizzi]

Before I got Kontakt, I used Reason for a lot of my instruments. Back when I first got it, it was the best all around sound producer out there. Dr Rex was able to transform loops in ways no one else could. And I didn't need a lot of other devices because they were all there. Plus, it worked with any of the main DAWs.

Now I mostly use it for experimenting. It is very stable and uses little CPU. It runs on almost anything, including my Yoga with a 128 GB hard drive that I use for travel. No other DAW will do that. I have a number of Rack plugins and it is fun to play with. But I usually end up finishing songs in another DAW. The good thing is that Reason will rewire into other DAWs, so unlike when I did something in Cubase and wanted to move it to another DAW, which was a real big pain.

If you have it, I would learn it. Otherwise, it really depends on the type of music you make. It could never be a bad investment, but there might be other stuff that is more useful.

[Muziksculp]

Hi & Thanks for all the helpful feedback.

I have Reason 9, and have not yet put anytime into using/learning it.

Cubase Pro, and Studio One Pro are my two main DAWs. , But given that Reason is quite different from traditional DAWs, and doesn't use VSTs, but rather RE's, and Refills, Plus, it is very stable, light on CPU, and offers a degree of flexibility in terms of routing, modulating stuff in the rack, ..etc. I might just start learning it at slow pace, and see how I get along with it as a standalone DAW, and possibly as a Rewired DAW later on.

I will still appreciate more feedback about this topic, if anyone wants to add more to it.

Cheers,
Muziksculp

[xbitz]

nobody knows what's best for you better than you do, if u like some part of it than use it bravely, for ex.Nu:Tone uses both of them, the best parts from Cubase the best the parts from Reason(mainly for beatmaking)

[saturdaysaint]

If you have a few minutes, Props have some great tutorials on their site that take deep dives into Reason's various devices. I found Reason pretty easy to play with out of the box, but it really rewards just a little bit of research - if you take a few minutes to learn the devices and a few routing tricks, sound design quickly becomes fun and easy.

Highly recommend this series: https://www.propellerheads.se/blog/discovering-reason

[inkwarp]

some of the samples are really good there is the rex player, the drum machines (Kong is excellent), all very useful as a plugin. i gave up trying to mix or write in it at version 5. i can't stand the fact it's all locked into an un-sizeable window. i shall hang on to my copy of 5 but i doubt i will ever use it again for mixing anything. the one overwhelming pro for it is that it is incredibly reliable and has never crashed on me. it also uses very little resources. so its worth having for things like orchestral sounds and pianos alone... definitely worth having for rewire purposes..

[Lejurai]

My main daw is bitwig, but I have reason on my laptop. It's worth to learn if you're into experiment/exploring and like draggin cables around. IMO great daw. Never crashed so it's very stable and light with stock devices.

[Studio Saturn]

I have used Reason for over 10 years up until 7 and I loved it but as a mixer I hate it. It is a great DAW to fool around but the audio capability and the sequencer is painful to have. It is extremely backward 1990. It is great to have it next to you to have fun with it when you get bored or something. Try to import and mix 40 track and over with it, you will max out your DSP pretty quickly. Faster than any other DAW out there. No PDC it is just a deal breaker all round as a mixer too much to lose than to gain. Have fun with it but don't spend your time on learning. Don't add stress it is not good for creativity. Just concentrate on the tool which you are comfortable with even if it is Reason. If you are comfortable with it learn it. If not, throw it away. Don't bother about either Dave Pensado or who ever is using that tool. You are the one who is going to use it not Dave. If you are not happy to use Cubase, change it. That goes to Studo One or Reason. Avoid Stress it is bad for creativity.

[inkwarp]

i would agree that reason is more a 'playful' thing but it's left in the dust after using FL Studio, probs. the most fun you can have in a daw these days. between that and ableton i don't see a place for it anymore.
like the guy above i used it for years. i would do all my audio looping etc. in Acid studio.
AHhhh, them's were the days :)

[Muziksculp]

I have used Reason for over 10 years up until 7 and I loved it but as a mixer I hate it. It is a great DAW to fool around but the audio capability and the sequencer is painful to have. It is extremely backward 1990. It is great to have it next to you to have fun with it when you get bored or something. Try to import and mix 40 track and over with it, you will max out your DSP pretty quickly. Faster than any other DAW out there. No PDC it is just a deal breaker all round as a mixer too much to lose than to gain. Have fun with it but don't spend your time on learning. Don't add stress it is not good for creativity. Jut concentrate on the tool which you are comfortable with even if it is Reason. If you are comfortable with it learn it. If not, throw it away. Don't bother about either Dave Pensado or who ever is using that tool. You are then one who is going to use it not Dave. If you are not happy to use Cubase, change it. That goes to Studo One or Reason. Avoid Stress it is bad for creativity.

Hi Studio Saturn,

Thanks for your feedback, and advice.

There is always a bit of a stress in learning anything new. Especially another DAW. and in this case Reason 9.

This is the main reason I posted this topic, and was curious to know if it was worth the extra effort to learn, and use Reason if I use a traditional style DAW i.e. (Cubase , Studio One) .

With the variety, and quality of VST Plug-Ins available these days, it appears to be less favorable to learn something like Reason 9. Unless it offers something very, very special. Which at this time, I'm not sure it does anything a traditional DAW with high-quality plug-in Instruments and Effects can't deliver. Plus, the mixing environment in both Cubase and Studio One is great.

Since I already own Reason 9, I might just use it for fun, and experiment with it, and learn to use it at a slow pace, and who knows, I might find something that it does very special and worth incorporating in a song. But surely I will always look at Reason as a secondary DAW, and a creative tool for experimenting, and fun. I think this will keep the stress down, and keep me focused on using my primary DAWs (Cubase & Studio One).

Cheers,
Muziksculp

[Muziksculp]

i would agree that reason is more a 'playful' thing but it's left in the dust after using FL Studio, probs. the most fun you can have in a daw these days. between that and ableton i don't see a place for it anymore.
like the guy above i used it for years. i would do all my audio looping etc. in Acid studio.
AHhhh, them's were the days

FL Studio 12 is another DAW I'm considering as a secondary DAW (already watching lots of tutorials). The new Vector based GUI is amazing to look at, big and clear. It is very different in structure compared to any other DAW, but I think that's what makes it click with many users, and the ability to use it as a VST Plug-In, or via Rewire, or as a standalone makes it very flexible. I have been researching both Reason 9 and FL Studio 12, and have been impressed with both, but especially with FL Studio 12. Who knows. ... I might end up using both FL Studio 12, and Reason 9, with my primary DAWs. Lots of options we have at our disposal these days, and imho. it might be worth the effort to learn them, if time is not an issue.

[Lejurai]

Now that you mentioned FLS. Yes, learn Reason and yes, learn FLS. Because if you collaborate (by visiting someone elses studio), you'll most definitely encounter these daw's. If not inside out, at least the basics that you can make a song easily.

Personally I'm really familiar with Reason, Bitwig, Ableton, FLS, Reaper, Cubase, Mutools, Sonar.. And Sunvox ^^

[inkwarp]

FL is so much more versatile imo.
it has real depth for those who wish to explore it.
i would also say, and this is very subjective, but i found that the initial learning curve was very frustrating. so i almost jacked it in, i felt the shortcuts etc. where counter-intuitive. but i am glad i stuck with it. the FL Guru guy on youtube is a good teacher ( and the seamlessR guy knows a lot to)..

[Muziksculp]

FL is so much more versatile imo.
it has real depth for those who wish to explore it.
i would also say, and this is very subjective, but i found that the initial learning curve was very frustrating. so i almost jacked it in, i felt the shortcuts etc. where counter-intuitive. but i am glad i stuck with it. the FL Guru guy on youtube is a good teacher ( and the seamlessR guy knows a lot to)..

Yes, learning all these new shortcuts, and remembering them in FL Studio 12 is a bit of a pain to deal with. But, I appreciate your advice to sticking through this learning process, given it will payoff.

Again, it is always kind of stressful to learn another DAW, so it's all about weighing the benefits, and deciding if it is all worth it, or not.

[incubus]

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